HANOI: Việt Nam enjoyed a trade surplus of US$2.45 billion in the first eight months of this year, a report from General Statistics Office (GSO) has revealed. The eight-month trade surplus was totally contributed by the foreign-invested sector, which posted an export surplus of $15.18 billion, while the domestic sector witnessed a deficit of $12.73 billion, Lê Thị Minh Thủy, head of GSO, said. The country’s trade revenue topped $221.93 billion in the period. Of the sum, exports contributed $112.19 billion, surging 5.5 per cent against same period last year.
The above-mentioned growth was, however, equal to two thirds of the target set earlier by the State, Thủy said. Export revenue of the domestic sector reached $32.62 billion, up 4 per cent year-on-year, while that of the foreign-invested sector stood at $79.57 billion, up 6.1 per cent year-on-year.
Among the key export items witnessing significant turnover increases were mobile phones and components ($22.3 billion, up 11 per cent), garments and textiles ($15.5 billion, up 4.2 per cent), electronics, computers and parts ($11.1 billion, up 11.2 per cent) and footwear ($8.6 billion, up 8.1 per cent). Meanwhile, several other products witnessed export revenue reductions, including crude oil (some $1.5 billion, down 46.2 percent), rice ($1.5 billion, down 14 per cent), rubber ($887 million, down 4 per cent) and cassava ($698 million, down 26 per cent).
The US remained the largest importer of Vietnamese goods with revenue of $24.6 billion. It was followed by the EU with $21.9 billion, China with $12.6 billion, Japan with $9.3 billion and South Korea with $7 billion, GSO said. From January to August, the country’s imports saw a yearly modest decline of 0.3 per cent to $109.74 billion. Imports of the foreign-invested sector plunged by 1 per cent to $64.39 billion, while that of the domestic sector experienced a slight increase of 0.5 per cent to $45.35 billion.
Import items that recorded revenue reductions included machines, tools and spare parts ($17.7, down 4.2 per cent), materials for garments, textiles and footwear ($3.4 billion, down 0.3 per cent), animal feed ($2.1 billion, down 6 per cent), wood and wooden goods ($1.1 billion, down 21 per cent) and fertilizers ($748 million, down 18.6 per cent). Despite a yearly decline of 3 per cent in turnover, China continued to be the leading import market for Việt Nam. During the reviewed period, Việt Nam spent $31.6 billion on importing goods from this neighboring country, equivalent to one third of Việt Nam’s total import turnover.
